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Gold is useful stuff in all sorts of electronic applications... I'd say at least 4x that of Bismuth or around $50/pound.


So, about 0.2% of its actual value.


"current" is more precise than "actual"


more like 0.2% of its actual COST. His point is that he thinks cost and value are out of sync.


actually, wouldn't the cost be the marginal cost to pull gold out the earth? I thought that was around $500/oz.


That's ridiculous. Gold is far more valuable as a mammalian decoration than as a conductor.


Gold is a very significant part of electronics manufacturing, especially high end/high rel work. A couple of examples are plating on connectors and switch contacts (corrosion resistance) and ENIG PCB finishes, but there's a lot more where those came from.

So while you may feel its value is higher as jewelry etc., its utility is still quite high in electronics.




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